The Gift
by Checkmate 24601
Summary: Just when he thinks that his non-stop efforts during the past twenty-four hours were for naught, Kuchiki Byakuya found his arms full with the female ryoka.


**The Gift**

Kuchiki Byakuya found himself in a dilemma. _A rather unusual one. _

In the majority of situations, he could always resort to either three things: his skills as a Shinigami Captain to win battles against Hollows; his status as one of the four noble families whose service to the Seireitei stretched back earlier than anyone cared to remember; or his wealth, which generally ended any argument point blank. However, his current dilemma did not feature in any of the above categories.

Interacting with people had always been a weakness for Byakuya. In his youth, he was too hotheaded to care much about the opinions or emotions of others. More than two hundred years later, that still has not changed except for the fact that he has learned to cool and restrain his temper. After Hisana's death, it was easy to lock away his feelings. _He is still working on this aspect in relation with Rukia. _

So heaven forbid that Byakuya needed to praise someone or worse, in the present situation, be involved in gift giving. _Actually, that's not quite accurate. _He is presently pacing up and down the length of his gardens, unable to admire the sakura blossoms or the koi today, because he did not know what to give to an eighteen-year old girl's _– really in ningen terms, a young woman's – _birthday.

Inoue Orihime.

This name would have meant nothing to the twenty-eighth head of the Kuchiki clan two years ago. These two words would not have held any significance or brought to mind a female _ryoka _with hair the colour of sunset with a similar to his own pair of stormy gray eyes, distinguished from his by the soft permeation of dusky amethyst in hers.

He certainly took little heed to her when she came with Kurosaki and their nakama,blowing into the Seireitei _like the storm that she was _to rescue Rukia. He may have raised a brow at Unohana's frequent mentions of her name, combined with the near obsessive interest that Unohana, the fourth division, and Kurosutchi displayed at her healing abilities in the aftermath of Aizen's betrayal.

He can honestly say that he would have continued obliviously in that indifferent state towards her until the month that she came with Rukia to the Seireitei to train and hone her abilities. Orihime had stayed at the Kuchiki manor at Rukia's insistence, and he had no particular objections _as long as it was not Kurosaki_. Grateful as he was towards the substitute shinigami in forcing him to recognize the importance of his imouto and Hisana's promise, the two of them had difficulty coexisting in the same room without both their stubborn attitudes, tempers, and reiastus flaring.

In mentally dismissing her merely as _that brat's _comrade had been his first mistake.

He was taken off guard when she turned up outside his study the second evening of her stay, three hesitant but clear knocks on the doorframe being his only warning before he saw her, taking a moment too long _by Kuchiki standards_ in attaching a name to her face. (He had not met her the first night as a result of patrol duties, having returned late and left early the following morning.)

"_Is there something I can help you with, Inoue-san?"_

"_I-ie Kuchiki-taichou," _here she drew a deep breath, as though to fortify herself,_ "I wanted to just say 'Thank you' for allowing me to stay here. I didn't want to impose, but Kuchiki-san insisted … and I'm not too familiar with anyone else apart from Zaraki-taichou and a few members of the eleventh division…and I'm sorry, did I interrupt you in the middle of something, Kuchiki-taichou?..."_

He remembered every word of their conversation and her expressions _multiple expressions that he did not believe a person could express in such a short amount of time _– gratitude, sincerity, earnestness, and slight embarrassment combined with her dancing hands _like sparrows just learning to fly _when words failed her. He had not expected any politeness or gratitude from any friend associated with Kurosaki, and upon being confronted with living proof of quite the contrary, he found himself trying rapidly to readjust his assumptions and standards.

He must have been staring at her for too long in surprise because her features turned concerned _with a touch of curiousity _and her reiatsu _she probably did not even realize it _reaching out to comfort him.

"_Is everything alright, Kuchiki-taichou?"_

"_Yes. … Everything's fine." _An awkward pause had followed, neither knowing what to say. _"You were not interrupting me."_

Then in an extraordinary moment that completely broke the tension _with a finesse that she had not intended _Orihime had laughed.

"_I'm glad."_

Two words… two warm words with not a trace of pretense that he found so common in others _within his own clan_, and he could never look at her with quite the same eyes afterwards. And with each increasing encounter _there was no way to avoid her when she was living under the same roof as him _– though Byakuya would never admit that he had greater trouble in avoiding her and remaining indifferent than he did with his fifty years with Rukia – he found himself learning more about this strange human who was_ so alive_.

He could barely keep his stoic composure when he found her singing and _trilling_ in the kitchen _not very loudly but nevertheless, _ignoring the servants who had stared and whispered behind her back while she had rapidly sliced celeries, mushrooms _… and was that wasabi she was dipping them in?_

Their shared enjoyment of spicy food had increased their… association. Byakuya found himself conversing, _actually conversing _during dinnertimes with her and Rukia as though it were normal for him.

It was after a rather bland day at the sixth division that he learned another surprising fact about the girl – she was a good _Go _player…

_and she was absolutely wicked with a deck of cards. _

So it became a near daily habit that he would return from the sixth division to two cups of honey, ginger tea and a _Go _chessboard with Orihime putting down a textbook_ with a smile and 'Tadaima, Kuchiki-taichou'_, a habit that continued until dinner was called.

He learned through Rukia that Orihime, despite her looks and moments of ditziness, never ranked below the top three in her academics. _Did he mention that she was the personification of Surprise? _

Just when he thought he had learnt all there was to know about Inoue Orihime, he was thrown for another loop.

_He did not expect her to find Hisana's shrine; after all these years, Rukia never did. _

'_But she's not Rukia,' Senbonzakura had whispered in his ear. _

_No, she wasn't. She was different from Rukia – and very different from Hisana. _

_He had initially thought that there was an intruder, given that servants rarely visited this section of the household, when he heard her voice._

"_Oh, you must be Hisana-sama…"_

_He had drawn back behind the shoji doors when he caught sight of her hair. He found himself, surprisingly, unable to be angry with her as he would have normally with any else in this situation. Surprised, uncertain, maybe even curious at what she would say… but not furious…_

"_I am one of Kuchiki-san's friends, and she has so kindly invited me here to stay while I train in Soul Society. She is such a good friend that … I must confess that Kuchiki-san is sometimes too good to me, especially when I find myself jealous of her. She is so good and __capable__ at helping Kurosaki-kun, at giving him back his smile… when I can't… because I'm too weak to fight…"_

_Byakuya refrained from contradicting at this point, if only to conceal his presence. _

"_But these past three weeks, I find myself feeling worse because I … have another reason to be jealous of Kuchiki-san … and this one, I don't think the feeling will stop, not even when I've turned green, like a leprechaun…"_

_He couldn't repress a smile at her imagination, before it returned to its usual frown._

"_I'm jealous of Kuchiki-san because… because she has such a wonderful brother like Kuchiki-sama… always with her. She's never __lonely__… and each day, she can return home to a family…"_

_All speech broke down at this point because she was quietly sobbing, with the expertise of someone who routinely hides her tears. _

"_And this only makes me miss Sora-nii-chan all the more…"_

_Gasping for breath, the teenager wrapped an arm around herself as though to stop herself from… shattering (would that be the right word?)_

"_But he is such a good brother to her, regardless of the Aizen incident… a good man… Oh Hisana-sama, please excuse my blubbering, but you should be so happy and proud of the both of them… as I'm sure you are…"_

_When Orihime left, she had no awareness of the darker shadow lodging itself in the corner behind a silk screen. A shadow which stared intensely after her, long after she turned the corner, and her footsteps could no longer be heard. _

Byakuya readily agrees that that last encounter (though he never showed himself) had overwhelmed him. _She was jealous of Rukia? She had a brother? She thought him a good elder brother? She thought he was a good man?_

Such was the state of his emotions that he couldn't face her for two days, needlessly and anxiously worrying her.

_She managed to crash into him – literally – on the third day he was planning to avoid her, and she had tearfully asked him what she had done wrong, apologizing before he could give an answer, and pleading with grey diamonds in her eyes could they still not be, "pardon my rudeness in assuming", friends again? _

_He had led her to the gardens, trying to buy time and in a strenuous effort to compose himself when he did not know what to say. He had a sudden flash of envy at her ability to express herself with no inhibition or thoughts to propriety, circumstance or society._

_He reassured her multiple times that she was not at fault. Somehow, he had irrationally let loose his temper on her – _he forgets the meanderings of their conversation _– questioning how she could be so certain that he was a good sibling, was capable of emotions, and was, more importantly, a good man. Looking into her wide eyes then, he had even startled himself at the intensity of his frustration, at how much her words had stirred and bothered him. _

_Instead of listing off reasons of their past interactions, his act of taking the blow of Shinsou for Rukia on the execution hill, or even a plain "I just know", she had surprised yet again when she spoke with a watery smile and a trembling voice._

"_From your zanpakutou attacks to your gardens, I know Kuchiki-sama is all of these things because, even though Winter claims your heart, your favourite season is Spring."_

_It was a baffling response, and yet, a response that embodied her logic … a logic, which he found himself able to understand._

Thus, he is now in his current predicament, trying desperately to think of what to give Orihime for her birthday tomorrow evening. Matsumoto-fukutaichou of the tenth division had persuaded her human friend to spend her birthday in Soul Society with a huge party, and Byakuya could not stand the thought that his gift to his _kokoro no tomo – "we'll be soul friends, Kuchiki-sama" when he told her he did not think they were just friends – _would be without meaning or second-rate to the others. _Yes, he was a Kuchiki damn it, and he has a Kuchiki-standard of pride. _This was especially difficult for him, Kuchiki pride or not, because he had _shamefully _never properly celebrated Rukia's birthday or gave his sister presents.

_Of course, there were the finest crafted combs and woven scarves he could afford for her. Arguably, his most special gift had been the big Chappy bunny he gave her when she was recuperating from her injuries…_

He was between a stone lantern and sakura tree when an idea dawned on him. Unorthodox, yes, but brilliant in its originality, and … he gave a quick mental calculation, _there would be enough time _– he was the best placed with his influence and position to pull strings to obtain Orihime's gift. Without any word, he shunpoed out of the garden.

_The following evening…_

Orihime sighed as she gazed out at the crowd of her friends, present to celebrate her birthday. Oh, she was happy, beyond ecstatic really, at not being alone, having an _enormous _chocolate-strawberry-matcha birthday cake with plenty of wasabi sushi and red bean manjuu on the side, and receiving so many presents.

She had finished opening all of them from everyone. Well not everyone, since Kuchiki-sama was not there.

'_Silly girl, he could be busy with a mission or clan duties. Don't be so selfish!' _she reprimanded herself.

There was a sudden lull in the party atmosphere. Looking up, Orihime met the granite, grey eyes of the man she was reminiscing about. She blushed _when she knew she shouldn't since there was nothing to blush about_.

"Never pegged you for a party crasher Byakuya. Did you not know what to get for Inoue?" Ichigo remarked with a smirk.

"Kuchiki-sama, I'm so glad you're here." Orihime immediately interceded, hoping to prevent katanas from being drawn in a roomful of people.

"Forgive my late arrival, Orihime," Byakuya ignored the astonished gazes and looks he was receiving, _yes, being her 'friend of the heart' after two years gave him the right to address her by her first name, and there's nothing more to it _"but there was someone I was searching for –" he gently touched her shoulder to indicate he was not finished yet when she parted her lips to reassure him _no doubt that there was no problem and she is just glad that he could make it despite being so busy with so many different duties _"- who really wishes to see you".

She gave him a curious look then. _Who? _Her eyes asked him. He gestured towards the doorway.

And her breath lodged in her throat. She was choking up.

Byakuya heard Kurosaki sputtering in the background and the confused murmurings of the other shinigami, but his sole attention was focused on the birthday girl, watching the flitting of emotions in her eyes. Just as he begins to worry that he might have made a mistake, and that his non-stop efforts during the past twenty-four hours for a two-day pass were wasted, Kuchiki Byakuya experienced his first tackle-embrace from a girl.

Had it not been for his training, he would have collapsed in an undignified heap on the floor instead of simply sliding one foot backwards _how does she have that much strength? _when he found himself with his arms full of Orihime. She was too small to reach his shoulders; hence, her arms were wrapped _tightly _around his waist.

He finally saw her eyes when she gazed up at him, and again _and again _he was floored by the degree of happiness, joy and gratefulness within them. He soon realised that she was repeating something while he had been in a daze –

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. _Thank you_. Oh thank you _so _much, Kuchiki-sama. It's the most wonderful birthday present I've ever received!" and Byakuya could not help the shadow of a smile that insistently tugged at the corners of his lips, which threatened to become a full-blown smirk when he noticed the Quincy tensing at her words and glaring _not so subtly _at him.

Not wishing to see her cry though, he wiped away the tear trails on her cheeks before bending down a little to whisper into the shell of her ear, "I think someone wishes you to hug him as well." She smiled, _a dazzling brilliant smile _at him, whispering one more 'thank you' before she turned, running towards the figure at the doorway with open arms –

"Sora-nii-chan!"

A/N Hello minna! Please review. Constructive criticisms are most welcome. Flames shall be ignored. And I do not own Bleach.


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